Go to page

LE

Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, BMedSci, BM BS, DM, FFPH, FRCPath, Hon FFPM, CBiol, CSci, FRSPH, FSB graduated in Medicine from the University of Nottingham in 1987, trained in Public Health Medicine from 1991, and became a Senior Lecturer at the University of Nottingham in 1997, before serving with the pharmaceutical and vaccines industries from 2000. He moved to the UK Health Protection Agency in 2004, where he was Head of the Pandemic Influenza Office, before returning to Nottingham in late 2007 as Professor of Health Protection.

His special interest in influenza and other respiratory viruses spans 25 years and focuses on: epidemiology; transmission; vaccinology; public health policy; and pandemic preparedness and response.

He is co-Editor and chapter author of the textbook: Pandemic Influenza, which is now in its second edition. He has been a consultant to the World Health Organization on influenza since 2004, and was Editor-In-Chief of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses from 2013-2017.

He sat on the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) during the 2009-10 pandemic.

His unit has been an official WHO Collaborating Centre for pandemic influenza and research since 2010; and a UK Faculty of Public Health 'national treasure' training location for influenza research since 2011.

He was Chair of UK NERVTAG (the UK Government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group) from 2014-2017. In October 2017 he moved to the Department of Health, England, on secondment as Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

LE

Amusing watching the Sky interview of outgoing Labour 'leader' Corbyn as to how he would have dealt with the pandemic differently. I suppose it's easy to 'armchair quarterback' and criticise when you've no skin in the game and have the benefit of foresight

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring.
They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards,
For today we have naming of parts.

LE

When they closed down the medicine production factory in Wrexham, manufacturing moved to India. A tiny staff was retained for a year or so to close down the building, dispose of poisons, etc. And then they were redundant too.

Apparently the Indian factory could produce 100 tablets for the cost of 1 in Wrexham.

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring.
They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards,
For today we have naming of parts.

LE

When they closed down the medicine production factory in Wrexham, manufacturing moved to India. A tiny staff was retained for a year or so to close down the building, dispose of poisons, etc. And then they were redundant too.

Apparently the Indian factory could produce 100 tablets for the cost of 1 in Wrexham.

To the last of time all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts his hour on the stage, then heard no more. A tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

GCM

Just watched the 5 o'clock (CET) news on the Zweiter Deutsche Fernsehen (boxhead TV). Top story was the situation in the UK. Whilst they did not say it was a shambles you would not require a PhD to realise that was the message. It made me a bit irritable (schadenfreude is a German word) but they did not exaggerate and fairly described the mess that Johnson and his terracotta cabinet have got us into.

It's better sometimes to see ourselves as others see us than to live in the past.

The trap we've fallen into is to believe that a thousand incompetents properly organized can do the job of a few dozen outstanding people.

MIA

Same as "Nodding" Norman Lamb. Reporting from a room as though he is being brave (While still collecting his salary). Do they all go to a special school. They nod, look left and right while nodding head, beating air with hands and trying to depress us more. Shower of fuckwits, like BBC , ITV, Sky, CNN. Doc on TV today telling us lots of blurb was just that. He was cut short and subject closed rapidly.

LE

Believe it or not, they actually do learn that as a technique and have done for years. All to do with editing and cutting while doing an interview, so they can switch between interviewer and interviewee to somehow make it appear they're paying attention.

LE

I have a suggestion box winner... it will save broadcast news organisations £millions during the crisis.

”Good evening and welcome to the news at plonketty oh plonk*.​

pause

”We are all going to die, the world will end and Boris /Trump is to blame”​

pause

“That was the news at plonketty oh plonk”​

​

No need for huge news teams, production teams, up there own arse presenters etc... it has to be a winner, especially as it is exactly the news we are getting now but in a massively cost effective format.

LE

In this small case possibly but in many many others, especially dealing with the outbreak and rebuilding after the outbreak, it is vital not to be ruled by bureaucrats who see their role as protecting their role.

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring.
They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards,
For today we have naming of parts.

LE

I seem to recall General Mike Jackson or some other General Officer in the early stages of TELIC 1 getting the third degree from a journalist. The advance has ground to a halt/bogged down/yesterday's ball of fire/out of puff etc etc.

His answer was something like: FFS, we've gone so fast and gone so far we've left the supply train behind and we're waiting for it to catch up.

‘Men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place nor appointed destination. The enterprise is to keep afloat on an even keel.’ - Michael Oakeshott

Old-Salt

On these daily press conferences, i think there must be a competition for the most stupid question. Kunesburg(sp), just asked, with a straight face, " can you give me a DATE when all NHS staff will have been tested", A chuffing 'date', why not ask for the hour or minute. The MSM is starting to make me more poorly than Covid

"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it."

LE

Banner across the bottom of the screen this morning on GMB stated that "Germany is testing 500,000 per day at the same time as a German scientific journalist was saying germany is testing 500,000 a week.